Insulated rail-joint.



w. P. momma.

INSULATED RAIL JOINT. APPLICATION FILED DEC- 23. 19M.

Eatented Apr 13, 1915.

WILLIAM F. THOMSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE RAIL JOINT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. -Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

INSULATED RAIL-JOINT.

masses.

specification of Letters Patent. Apr. 13, 1915;

Application filed December 23, 1914. Serial No. 378,713.

This invention relates to rail joints of the insulated type, and particularly to a novel and practical improvement in the insulating means and the holding or clamping means therefor. i

Primarily, the invention has in view an improvement in'the structural form of the binding means and insulating means employed in insulated rail joints whereby the insulating material may be utilized to provide the most economical conditions 'for maintenance and renewal.

In carrying forward this general object, the invention contemplates a construction wherein that part of the insulation subject.

to the most rapid disintegration and destruction is not only conserved and its life 1ncreased, but also possesses the characteristics I of being readily removable and replaceable.

Furthermore, another practical object in view is to effect a novel combination between the contact and insulation bearing surfaces of the rail head and of the splice bar, whereby the pressure imposed on the insulation results in greatly reducing the destructive forces of t. ifiic conditions.

Accordingly, .a distinctive object of the present invention is to improve the rail joint head construction andthe rail head insulation so that such insulation may more successfully resist the destructiveforces incident tothe pounding of the .car wheels on the rail ends as well as-tohe tightening of the joint bolts. in the latter connection, the invention provides a novel combination between the rail head insulation bearing and the splice bar insulation bearing whereby upon tightening of the bolts the insulation will be prevented from spreading or mashing out beneath the rail head as it frequently does in the constructions in common use.

With these and other objects in view which will be recognized by those familiar with this art, the invention consists in the ,gnovel construction, combination, and ari'angement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

Though susceptible of structural modification, and also to difierent adaptations in connection with difl'erent forms of splices, certain preferred and ractical embodiments of the invention are s own in the accompanying drawings, in whichigure 1 is a cross sectional view of an insulated rail joint illustrating the application of the improved rail joint head conformation and rail head insulation to a rail joint of the continuous type. Fig. 2 is a similar bisected view illustrating the application of the improvement to a rail joint having an angle bar splice with improved head conformation and using the ordinary insulation havinguniform thickness throughout. Fig. 3 is a detail in perspective of a rail-head insulation plate having the structural characteristic which distinguishes the same from an insulation plate of uniform thickness throughout. 1

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The improved insulation comprising the present invention is applicable to various kinds of rail joints, and hence available for use with fish plates, plain angle bars, angle bars of the continuous type, channel bars, or any of the divers forms of splices which connect the rails and extend across the joint between them. In any or all of these applications, the invention possesses the same utility and snbserves the same functions.

For illustrative purposes, there is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings an insulated rail joint including in its organization the usual" rails R and splice bars 1 of the continuous type. These splice bars are associated with any suitable form of base insulation 2 to insulatethe bars from the rail flanges, but the rail head insulation is of a novel and distinctive form. This rail-head insulation consists of an insulation angle-plate 3 of fiber, or other insulation material, fitting in the angle of the rail beneath the rail head and engaged by the head portion 41 of the splice bar. In contrast to the conventional insulation plate or fiber sheet, of uniform thickness throughout, the insulation plate 3 of above Fig. 1, is of non-uniform thickness. That is to say, this insulation plate is of graduated thickness, the same gradually in creasing in thickness from its outer upper ed portion 5 toward its middle portion or angle 6where it reaches a maximum thickness, and then from such point of'maximum thickness, gradually diminishing in thickness toward its lower inner edge portion 7 hence, the improved insulation plate 3 is provided with a thickened intermediate angle portion 6 and with relatively thinner.

A further featureof improvement embodied in the insulation plate 3, is the formation of said plate at one .side with a convex, arcu ate bearing surface 15 complementally, r'ela ted to the mating concave arcuate contact face 16 of the rail together with. the formation of said plate at its other side With a concave arcuate bearing surface 9 co plementally related to the mating convex arcuate contact face 10 formed upon the-top and inside of the bearing head 4 of the splice, the concave bearing surface 9 having a greater radius than the convex bearing surface 15. It is by reason of this novel formation of bearing faces with the corresponding bearing faces on the rail and spliced bar, that the in-.

sulation will be compressed and its density and. life increased by the tightening of the boltsor the pounding of the car wheels besides also increasing. the working bearing faces. After, the bolts have been tightened, the head 4 of the splice bars will become bedded more or less in the insulation as shown in dotted lines; but the characteristics of this invention still remain the same.

here is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, an angle'bar splice having a' similar conformation at its head to that shown on the continuous spliceof Fig. 1, but applied to the commonly used" insulation having uniform thickness throughout. This figure shows the splice, bar after it has been drawn inby the bolts, the original position of the outer surfaceof the insulation being indicated by the dotted lines. Fromthe peculiar conformation of the head 4 of the angle splice bar in conjunction with 'rail, it will be seen compression, is given the form of the specially prepared insulation shown in Fig. 3,"

and thereby having all of the characteristics of the latter. I

When the splice bars are drawn in by the bolts and nuts, they will compress the insuthe conformation of the that this insulation under lation and on account of the peculiar conforwill compress the insulation and prevent it from flowing out at its extreme edges.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction and advantages of the improved insulati'ng means will be apparent without further description, and it will be understood thatchanges in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

claimz. r

1. A rail-head insulating unit comprising an insulation plate oftransversely crescent form.

2. A rail-head insulating unit comprising an insulation plate having a thickened middle portion of cres section.

ent formation in crossto without departing from l 3. A rail-head nsulating unitcompris ng an insulation plate having'a middle portion of greater thickness and having a concave 4. An insulated rail sulation plate crescent than its edge portions arcuate face.

shaped. in cross section a rail having a bearing to'coincide with the convex of the crescent and :1 joint her head to correspond with the concave of the crescent.

5.. An insulated rail having a concaved insulation bearing surface, insulation, and a splice bar having a convexed insulation bearing surface of greater convexity than the concavity of the rail.

6. An insulated rail joint including a rail having an outer concaved' arcuate bearlng surface, an insulation angle plate, and 9.

splice bar having a head provided with an inside convex arcuate face of greater convexity than the arcuate face of the rail.

'i'. An insulated rail jointincluding a rail,

' and a splice bar I an insulation angle plate, having ahead whose bearing faces are disposed at non-uniform distances from the adjacent bearing faces of the railhcad and railweb, the maximum distance between said bearing faces of splice bar head and rail bejointincluding an injoint including a rail mg adjacent to the uncture of the rail-head and rail-Web.

I In testimonywhereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM P. THOMSON.

Witnesses BENJ. WALHAUPrnR, KATHERINE MGNAL Y. 

